P.O. Box 66, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
We are seeking volunteers to help with the animals and general maintenance of the farm..brushing and walking the donkeys and goats..spoiling the chickens, helping with the vegetable gardens, and more! Please email us
Saturday and Sunday, December 10 and 11, 2011
10AM to 4PM, rain, snow or shine
Taylor Bray Farm, 198 Bray Farm Road, Yarouthport, Ma
contact Lynn McIntyre 5083859407 or 5087570768
On the grounds you can purchase Christmas trees (many sizes to choose from). You may watch demos of hearth cooking or take a tractor drawn hayride, weather permitting.
While at the farm be sure to visit with all our animals.
In late September 2009, the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association began the initial stages of rehabilitating the 200-year-old farmhouse. Our opening effort is focused on removing the non-historic interior portions of the building added after 1950. In the oldest rooms of the building, we plan on removing, labeling and saving the floorboards and under-flooring for possible reuse. We are receiving important assistance from the town in removing construction debris from the work site.
Removing the non-historic material will facilitate long-term restoration goals by exposing hidden structural conditions and thus provide the town with more clear knowledge of the scope & costs of the rehab work that lies ahead. The TBFPA effort also will save the town the cost of demolition work.
Below are a couple of pictures from our first week’s work to give you a sense of what is going on. Removal of the cabinets in the existing kitchen has already uncovered new details about the original house such as a small window that was part of the original half cape. A more exciting find was an original fireplace in the wall behind the kitchen stove. It is attached to the old back chimney and may be salvageable.†
In any event, the most important thing is that the long awaited rehabilitation process on the farmhouse has finally begun. There is still much work ahead, but a beginning is important and this beginning is providing us new details of a house once occupied by Captain Samuel Taylor who had a remarkable record of service in the Revolutionary War and subsequently embarked on a maritime career that saw him rise to the rank of sea captain.
There is a new article in the Register about the start of work on the farmhouse!
IDA Read all about the work by Americorps at Americorps at Taylor Bray Farm
The Education Committee is looking for volunteers to help with providing a welcome and short history of the farm to visiting students and teachers.Any help would be greatly appreciated and will ensure that the farm is reaching out to younger generations to foster an appreciation of an historic Cape Cod farm. Please contact us by email to volunteer. The farm is always open for teachers to bring younger students for self guided tours.
Ongoing at the farm: Sunday is cleanup day. If you would like to help with the barn/pen cleanup and get to meet the animals up close, please just come to the farm at 11 am on any Sunday morning!
You can get a glimpse of the sheep festival at The Festival!
You can also check out the farm on Youtube at Cape Cast
Donkeys Sam and Nestor have started their harness training! Thanks to generous donors, we were able to hire a professional trainer to get them off on the right hoof.
TAYLOR-BRAY FARM PRESERVATION ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 66, Yarmouth Port, MA 02675
*******************************************************************************
Donations and memberships in the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association help to restore and maintain the buildings and grounds, and care for the animals at this unique historic site, preserving the legacy for present and future generations to enjoy.
A new article was recently published in Register
Come see how our cattle, Fiona and Scotty have grown!
To find out more about Scottish Highland Cattle, go to Scottish Highland Cattle
The Register also recently published an informative article about the Taylor Bray Farm.
About the farm
The Taylor-Bray Farm is situated on land in Yarmouth Port and was originally owned and settled by Richard Taylor in 1639. Through many generations, it remained in the Taylor family, until 1896 when George and William Bray, two brothers who had worked for the Taylors, acquired the land. It was sustained as a prosperous working farm by the Bray family until 1941. Between then and the late 1980's ownership changed hands a number of times.
Saved from Development
In 1987, the prospect of losing the farm to development prompted the Town of Yarmouth to purchase the property. The specific intent --"to maintain the farm for historic preservation and conservation". Tenant/managers have lived in the farmhouse, welcoming the public and educating many schoolgroups about the farm's history and ecologically rich natural beauty.
About the Association
In the Spring of 2001, a small group of farm neighbors formed the Taylor-Bray Farm Preservation Association. From this core group, we have grown to over 275 members from all sections of Yarmouth as well as other towns in Massachusetts and nine other states. We have established a strong partnership with the Yarmouth Historical Commission, the town's oversight body for the farm. The sheep pasture and pens have been re-fenced, all the aging barn doors have been replaced, landscape projects completed, and other improvement tasks implemented. In the summer of 2002, we began major repairs on the barn in partnership with the Yarmouth Historical Commission and Cape Cod Regional Technical High School that will include the replacement of the floors on the first and second levels, a complete electrical rewiring of the structure, and construction of an interior stairway, and installing new gutters.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
The mission of the TBFPA is compelling....join us, learn more and participate in the partnership to preserve this valuable historic site as a living legacy for the town of Yarmouth and all of Cape Cod.
Membership and volunteer support in the Association offers the opportunity to make a vital difference in preserving this farm's unique heritage. A printable membership form is available here .